Mbabane: The relationship between MTN and Youth Enterprise and Revolving Fund (YERF) which started in June 2019 is growing leaps and bounds to bear fruits as the MTN Foundation has again pumped E100 000 to the MTN-YERF Khula Natsi loan product.
The fund was announced by MTN Foundation board chairperson Busisiwe Simelane at YERF board room on Wednesday , during an event that was graced by the presence of YERF Chef Executive Officer Bhekizwe Maziya, Industrial Development Company of Eswatini (IDCE) representative as well as beneficiaries of the MTN-YERF loan project.
Making the announcement Simelane, said MTN Foundation was pleased to announce a fund E100 000 which will be used for the MTN-YERF Khula Natsi Loan project this year. She said this were the results of the good partnership they have with YERF in providing loan facility to help youth in business.
Based on reports from the E100 000 pumped the previous year, Simelane said they were exited to know that the fund was indeed helping businesses and also that the repayments of the loans was on track.
Simelane further announced that the maximum loan that can be borrowed has been revised from E14 000 to E20 000.
She said this comes after so many consultations with partners and stakeholders. “Based on feedback and reports, we have decided to revise the maximum loan application and make it E20 000”. This means now businesses will now be able to apply for loans from the MTN khula Natsi loan project from a minimum of E5 000 to a maximum of E20 000. She said this will help finance the businesses and help them grow.
Simelane highlighted that as MTN Foundation they were committed to empowering the youth in business, as they strongly believe that for an economy to thrive and grow from strength to strength, small business should be capacitated.
She encouraged youth entrepreneurs to remain resilient, ensuring business growth.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we do business, slowly we are moving into a different direction and thus we encourage entrepreneurs to be resilient and come up with new ideas”, MTN foundation believes that the future is in the youth and for the economy to grow and be strong money should be in the hands of SMEs”, she said.
Making his remarks YERF chief executive officer Bhekizwe Maziya thanked MTN foundation for the support. “It is such an honor for us as YERF to be once again meeting with MTN Foundation to cement our relationship which started a year ago”
He noted that while MTN Foundation is a sponsor of this product, their role as YERF is to facilitate its implementation and empower the young people to start and run their businesses in a sustainable manner which is our overall mandate.
The MTN-YERF Khula Natsi loan product is a partnership between MTN and YERF was launched in June 2019 by the Minister of Sports Culture and youth affairs Harries Madze Bulunga where E100 000 seed capital was injected to assist youth owned businesses who are in need of expansion.
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